Dolphins release Branden Albert, Mario Williams in salary cap moves

Coming off a playoff season in year one, new coach Adam Gase showed was not afraid to get rid of a couple of under performing offensive lineman in one day in a sudden move to shake up his his team. On Thursday, the Dolphins continued their re-construction of their O-line and released veteran Branden Albert.

The 32 year old Albert started 12 games at left tackle in 2016, but battled injury throughout his Miami tenure including missing four games last year. The move will save the Fins close to $9 million under the cap and it signals that Laremy Tunsil, who played left guard his rookie year, will move to his natural position this upcoming season.

The Dolphins are also dumping former #1 overall pick and Pro Bowl DE with the Bills, Mario Williams. Williams signed as a free agent last off season, but never really contributed in Vance Joseph’s defense registering only 1.5 sacks. He was also benched during the season for numerous games. His release saves Miami another $8.5 million under the cap.

Miami is also releasing his line-mate DT Earl Mitchell, who was going to enter the final year of a four year deal, but the Fins now save another $4 million by doing so.

All in all, these moves are saving Miami almost $22 million to spend on resigning their own free agents or to have ready when the market opens in March.

More importantly, it shows that after the Dolphins rolled off 7 straight wins and eventually got an AFC Wildcard spot, Gase has the backing of the front office on shaping the future of the Dolphins.